Dear Instructional Designer

Latest Episodes:

Episode 17: Interview with Ido Abramovich Aug 04, 2016

Show notes

Listen in on my conversation with Ido Abramovich, a technical trainer turned training business owner in Israel. Ido gives us insight into his growing training business, where he's made the move from full time employee to entrepreneur with a business partner and employees.

Ido also shares insight into the business model he's adopted, this idea of Training as a Service that he uses to help lessen the risk for clients, his development stack, and his general thoughts on what it takes to run and grow a business in a niche market.

##Get to Know Ido##

Twitter: https://twitter.com/idoabra
Business Website: http://www.badarom.com/#!home/c22td

##Recommended Reads##

Selling Professional Services: http://trustedadvisor.com/articles/selling-professional-services

Episode 16: Highbrow Courses and Subscription Learning Jul 28, 2016

Show notes

So several weeks ago, I wrote a blog post called, Steal this Idea: Push and Pull Systems for Marketing your Training. I really love the idea of of creating push systems as well as pull systems. In this episode, I examine the Highbrow model of subscription courses and how we might appropriate the model for our own uses as IDs.

##Recommended Reads##

Will Thalheimer on Subscription Learning: https://www.td.org/Publications/Blogs/L-and-D-Blog/2014/07/Stuck-in-An-E-Learning-Box-Try-Subscription-Learning
Will T's Subscription Learning Site: http://www.subscriptionlearning.com/
Highbrow's Site: http://gohighbrow.com/

Episode 15: Interview with Jed Esposito Jul 21, 2016

Show notes

This episode, I talk with Jed Esposito, an amazing ID I met in an ID social media group. He talks to us about making the transition from public industry to private industry and how to be the kind of ID who is known for getting stuff done.

Jed transitioned from the life of a K12 teacher to being university staff to being an ID in one of the biggest companies in the U.S. He talks us through what that was like as well as how his willingness to pick up a tool and figure out how to get things done has paved his way to being a great team member and helping his unit build a great reputation.

##Recommended Watches##

Moments of Need Framework: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szij1czDXMs

##Get in Touch with Jed##

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JedEspo

Episode 14: Interview with Jane Bozarth Jul 14, 2016

Show notes

In this episode, I talk with Jane Bozarth, instructional designer, presenter, and author. She gives us some really great tips on how to get our foot in the door to the presentation game.

Get to Know Jane

Twitter: https://twitter.com/janebozarth
Blog: http://bozarthzone.blogspot.com/
Social Media for Trainers Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/SoMe4Trainers/timeline?ref=page_internal

##Recommended Reads and Watches##

Jane Bozarth on Accessibility: http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/1737/nuts-and-bolts-its-not-just-about-compliance-accessibility-in-elearning
Demofest Archives: http://www.elearningguild.com/content/?mode=filter&source=demofest_archive
Julie Dirksen on women in elearning: http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/1609/women-in-the-elearning-field-beginning-a-conversation

Episode 13: Interview with Ashley Chiasson Jul 07, 2016

Show notes

Today’s guest is Ashley Chiasson, an incredible instructional designer, author, and presenter. Ashley talks us through yet another option for all you IDs out there: having a full time job, while also having a side business.

Ashley is our first ID in higher-ed. Anyone interested in ID in this field, listen up! ID in higher ed is a very different animal from roles with the same title that are focused on professional development or user instruction. Ashley shares some insight into how she works with SMEs in higher ed, how she balances having a business on the side, as well as some insight into the conference/presentation scene.

##Get to Know Ashley##

Website: http://ashleychiasson.com/blog/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/amdchiasson
Ashley's Book! Articulate Storyline Essentials: http://www.amazon.com/Articulate-Storyline-Essentials-Ashley-Chiasson/dp/1784392073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1463876741&sr=8-1&keywords=articulate+storyline+essentials

##Recommended Reading##

Ashley's post on elearning communities: http://ashleychiasson.com/blog/3-e-learning-communities-you-should-be-participating-in/
Ashley's post on freelance tips: http://ashleychiasson.com/blog/where-to-find-freelance-instructional-design-gigs/
Book Recommendation: How We Learn by Benedict Carey: http://www.amazon.com/How-We-Learn-Surprising-Happens/dp/0812984293
Regularly updated list of education-focused conferences (link to doc is at the very top): https://rickscafe.wordpress.com/2016/05/10/dr-clayton-r-wrights-list-of-educational-technology-education-conferences/

Episode 12: Side Project Marketing Jun 30, 2016

Show notes

As a follow up to our interview with James Finder, I wanted to share some insight about side projects as marketing. If you're thinking that you can't fit blogging into your life but you want to help build up some business for yourself, consider creating some side projects as a way to market yourself.

In this episode, I take some inspiration from a couple of great posts from the folks at Crew and talk about how you can use the side projects you might create as a part of your personal learning work to turn readers and visitors to your website into customers.

##Recommended Reads##

Seth Godin on Practicing Every Day: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2015/09/susdat.html
Side Product Marketing is the New King: https://medium.com/swlh/side-product-marketing-is-the-new-king-a75c4ed0c0c5#.my2q4uu3h
Finding Side Project Ideas: https://medium.com/swlh/finding-side-project-ideas-2248933214be#.5oi96drkk

##Recommended Listens##

$100 MBA Is Blogging Still Effective: http://100mba.net/mba467/

Episode 11: Interview with James Finder Jun 23, 2016

Show notes

Today’s interview is with James Finder, an ID I met on the instructional design subreddit. James is our first ID entrepreneur on the show. If you're thinking about starting up a business and striking out on your own, James shares valuable insight for this path.

James shares his instructional design journey, the interesting client industry he's focusing on, and how he deals with the challenges of being a solo-preneur.

##Get to Know James##

Website: http://getplexd.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/getplexdesign
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesrobertfinder

##Recommended Reading##

James's blog post on red flags: http://getplexd.com/2016/03/readredflags/
James's blog post on Freelancing Rates and Project Scope: http://getplexd.com/2016/02/jumpdog/
James's blog post on getting through uncertainty by finding community: http://getplexd.com/2016/05/making-avoid-desperate/

##Leave a Review##
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Episode 10: Interview with Rachel Barnum Jun 16, 2016

Show notes

Today’s interview is with Rachel Barnum, a really awesome instructional designer who I’ve followed on Twitter for some time now. Interested in ID roles that focus on face-to-face workshops? This one's for you!

Rachel shares how she transitioned from more development-focused roles to a role that is currently more focused on face-to-face experiences. She shares how she wrangles projects with 5 SMEs (5 SMEs!) as opposed to 1 or 2 and what a portfolio for someone in this type of ID role might look like.

##Get to Know Rachel##

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OhThatRachel
Website: http://www.ohthatrachel.com/

##Recommended Reading ##

Rachel's Post on Blogging: http://www.ohthatrachel.com/2016/05/04/encouragement-start-blog/
Design for How People Learn, Julie Dirksen: http://www.amazon.com/Design-People-Learn-Voices-Matter/dp/0321768434
The Benjamin Franklin Effect: The Surprising Psychology of How to Handle Haters: https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/02/20/the-benjamin-franklin-effect-mcraney/

Episode 9: Planning and Tracking Personal Learning Work Jun 09, 2016

Show notes

Following our interview with Mel Milloway, I thought we could spend some time thinking about how to plan and track personal learning work and increase our chances of actually getting stuff done.

##Recommended Courses##

Highbrow course on productivity systems: http://gohighbrow.com/portfolio/how-to-create-a-productivity-system/

##Recommended Reads and Listens##

Using Slack as a Personal Learning Hub: https://medium.com/@preslavrachev/using-slack-as-a-personal-knowledge-hub-43ae0b139c5b#.b4offh8q9
Time Management Tips for Tackling Your Side Projects: http://blog.trello.com/time-management-tips-kevan-lee-of-buffer/
Side Hustle Idea Brainstorming: http://www.sidehustlenation.com/side-hustle-idea-brainstorming/

Episode 8: Interview with Mel Milloway Jun 02, 2016

Show notes

In this episode, I interview the fabulous, versatile, and prolific Mel Milloway. Mel talks to us about development work and her methods for practicing and trying new things.

Mel's Writing

Article on JavaScript: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-ideas-using-javascript-change-background-color-milloway-msit?trk=prof-post
Article on Tycoon Game: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/heres-how-get-started-your-own-2d-tycoon-game-melissa-milloway-msit?trk=prof-post

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